Meng Qi stood hanging in mid-air. Not only the galvanic charge resonating from the ground seemed strange to him, but the pace of his fall also increased noticeably. Moreover, he could hardly maintain his steadiness with the continually changing magnetic forces around him. Simple movements became difficult for him; more so for evasive maneuvers. With the loss of his sense for precision, deflecting or blocking the blows of his foe would only be more dangerous for him.
He felt a searing pain in his Vital Spirit which made him grimace whenever any notion of thought passed through his mind. As if stabbed by unseen blades, the impulses delivered from his Vital Spirit to his brain and limbs were also affected by the mental assault that he could barely control his own hand!
This made Meng Qi nervous and fearful as he reacted wrongly, looking helplessly as the translucent Golden Light Arrow whizzed through the air and reached him with unforgiving speed and intensity.
“Is this the ‘Form of the Charging Crimson Glow’?”
“Is this the strength of a true grandmaster?”
“Is this the enhanced mastery of the Dharma and Logos of Nature accorded once one has reached such heights of strength?”
Taoist Chixia was clearly more extraordinary and powerful even when compared to the divine sentinels of the Southern Heavenly Door!
Unfortunately, he would need to reach the Realm of Grandmaster and fully master all Thirty-six Transformations before he could transform into a form in which he would hardly be affected by the shifts of galvanic forces – the Glowing Beast of the Diametric Charge!
With an inward sigh, a golden lotus bloomed from the midst of gloom shrouding his Vital Spirit, glowing with a refreshing radiance that helped him dull the pain from his senses. As if released from the shackles of agony, Meng Qi could think clearly again.
With his thoughts, he summoned the Dharma and Logos of Nature to his fingertips, imbuing them upon himself as he turned into a lumbering giant, glowing faintly in gold. Blood and energy pulsed through his veins like the raging rapids of a river, circulating a layer of protection that defended him from the assailing galvanic forces. With the indomitable aegis of the Law Phenomenon and that of the Eight Nine Mysteries, they could no longer threaten his Vital Spirit and physical body.
At the same time, Meng Qi activated the powers of his Kunlun Taoist Robe for there was no time for him to evade or parry the incoming attack!
A brilliant flash of light surged from the Taoist robes with shafts of ray that pierced through the swirling fog and tendrils of vapor.
The Taoist Robe had only been activated when the Golden Light Arrow struck. The trail of its trajectory crackled with electricity as it dispersed the protection of the Robe with an equally blinding flash as it came!
Layer by layer, the Arrow ploughed through the thinning magical defenses without slowing down a bit. This, however, did reduce the power within the projectile.
“Bang!”
The sharp arrow veered upward, hitting Meng Qi directly in the face. The dim glow protecting him blurred for a moment, revealing a white scar in the middle of his eyes.
“The arrow is an Exquisite Precious Weapon! And it is extremely dangerous in the hands of a grandmaster!” Meng Qi contorted with a shock.
He had activated the full powers of his Taoist Robe, yet it had not been able to fully sap the force of the Golden Light Arrow! He would surely be terribly injured if not for his Eight Nine Mysteries and the Law Phenomenon disciplines.
The sneer upon Taoist Chixi’s visage had also subsided, replaced with a skeptical look. “Was that the Law Phenomenon technique of the Line of the Jade Virtual Palace?”
“That would explain his foolhardiness in challenging me!”
“But a true grandmaster would hardly be defeated by such methods of expediency!”
Meng Qi released his apertures, summoning once again the energies of Nature as he calmed himself, maintaining his steadiness as he floated in mid-air. With a kick of his foot, he lunged at Taoist Chixia, brandishing the Heaven Inflicted Pain menacingly at his foe as he readied himself to attack.
Two additional limbs grew from his back but those weren’t wielding any weapons.
Taoist Chixia grunted coldly. The dazzling brilliance of the Form of Diametric Charge expanded before it shrunk as the gold-reddish spark of the Bow of Mountain and Sea flashed brightly in his fist as he pulled at its string!
Leaping two steps forward, Meng Qi felt the palpable force pushing strongly against him. It was the repulsion of the galvanic charges reacting before him that made it difficult for him to move.
The mocking sneer from before was nowhere to be seen and Taoist Chixia had turned serious as if he was facing against a foe of equal strength; one who was at least his equal for now.
He stretched the string of the longbow that now bore the semblance of a full moon in his grasp. Golden rays of light shimmered and formed another auric arrow upon the bow as bolts of arcing electricity crackled about.
“So be it!” Meng Qi exclaimed to himself, his emotions unfazed before the imminent salvo rained upon him. He stretched and extended the fingers of his new limbs, forming hand seals in both hands; one as Yin whilst the other as Yang.
Instantly, the physical force pushing against him now turned instead into a strong drawing pressure. Meng Qi’s speed increased, rising to such extents that he had never before experienced and even exceeded the expectations of Taoist Chixia. With only a minuscule movement, he evaded the Golden Light Arrow that was as close as a hair’s breadth from him!
His figure shimmered in the air as the gleam of his blade shone brightly. The magnetic pressure around him rose precipitously, threatening to fall apart.
With a swing of his blade, the Heaven Inflicted Pain came down hard. But he had not been able to raise the saber to its usual height. The irregularity caused his blade to inadvertently deviate from his target, slashing down furiously tens of meters away from Taoist Chixia and dispelled the electrical charges and the darkness caused by the distortions of the pressure. The force of his stroke reached so far that it hit the top of a barren hill.
Without a sound, a gash appeared in the middle of the peak, extending downwards.
There came noises of cracks and thumps as rocks and boulders rolled from the top. The cleft Meng Qi caused had halved the peak into two and a long gorge now stood in the middle of the two halves. Later, it came to be known as the Linear Gorge that would remain standing for a long, long time; a testament to the impeccable precision and sharpness of the blow.
But everything would still be for naught if he could not hit his enemy. Despite repelling the unseen assailment of the magnetic forces upon his mind and body, Meng Qi had not been able to fully prevent their effects on his body and weapons!
It was apparent that Taoist Chixia had recognized Meng Qi trying to use the Yin-Yang Seal earlier and had prevented the latter’s attempt to transform the magnetic forces to his advantage! This had affected Meng Qi’s powerful blow earlier, causing its trajectory to deviate slightly. Yet in distances greater than a few hundred meters, the deviation was greatly magnified. A miss which was indeed as good as a mile!
Reveling in triumph, Taoist Chixia adjusted his aim and spoke telepathically to his foe. Meng Qi heard a frosty scoff,
“Nothing more than a simple brute!”
“With the Law Phenomenon technique and the skill of the Yin-Yang Seal, you may have strength on par to that of a grandmaster, powerful enough to influence the effects of the Form of the Charging Crimson Glow. Still, you are not a true grandmaster. You lack the finesse to truly unleash the skills to proper efficacy!”
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Golden sparkles danced about as the Taoist released the auric projectile which shot through the air. Everything seemed to freeze as the arrow sped dangerously towards Meng Qi, the stupefying glitters of light seemed like the beckons of Death.
With the blunder in his earlier miss, Meng Qi had barely been able to react and evade. He whipped out the Flowing Fire in his left hand, channeling his powers and released several rays of auric threads that weaved together and formed a snaring web.
“Boom!”
A bolt of lightning arced through the air as the aura from the Flowing Fire scattered into the meshes of the net. The Golden Light Arrow pierced through the layers of the web, without losing even an iota of its speed.
At that moment, a long and deadly sword with engravings resembling the patterns of a tortoise’s shell appeared in the hand of the left arm that Meng Qi had used to cast the Yin-Yang Seal. He pointed the sword directly at the projectile.
“Pfft!”
Silhouettes of hexagonal shingles appeared in the air, crumbling and burning into crisps before they faded into cinders as the Golden Light Arrow penetrated the layers of defenses Meng Qi conjured. It smashed the shields and hit him, throwing him off his feet. The force of the blow had passed through the golden protection enveloping him and impacted his body.
Drops of blood trickled down the corner of his lips as he staggered backward, watching as Taoist Chixia readied himself for another volley. Meng Qi could only grimace helplessly with grim anticipation.
He could feel the swirling energies as danger loomed closer and closer, the premonition ability of the Eight Nine Mysteries tingling his senses wildly.
However, at this moment, he calmed down as his mind became peaceful and still despite the shivers of imminent death, everything around him entered his sights with crystal-clear clarity.
He shut his eyes suddenly, summoning to his fingertips all the mastery of the energies of Nature he could muster as he visualized everything around him in his mind; the collapsed chasm beneath him, the frantic flight to safety of the wild animals and beasts nearby, and the broken branches and boughs of the trees. Some of which had been blown to smithereens by the force of their attacks whilst some still hung by strips of bark from the trees. Forces of the galvanic pressure teemed abundantly in the air, pulling and dragging from all directions.
This was one of the scenes he had imagined: a setting where he would fight against a powerful and strong warrior to the grittiest and achieve greater heights!
Just then, the advice that Master Lu had given him on the subtlety and precision of his attacks emerged in his mind. With his senses magnified, Meng Qi could feel the drawing forces acting upon the fingers of his left hand and the pressure felt by the joints on his right palm…
Taoist Chixia noticed Meng Qi had fallen into a strange and hazy state. But never would he allow such an opportunity to escape him!
Without pulling the string of his bow to its limit, he hastily released another shot. The golden auric projectile charged swiftly at Meng Qi like a golden dragon, cleaving through the layers of obstructions with an explosive force that would never falter until it struck its mark!
At the same time, Taoist Chixia channeled his powers and summoned the forces of his Form of the Charging Crimson Glow, drawing and pulling at Meng Qi as he tried to incapacitate the latter, rendering him helpless like a puppet on strings.
But the Golden Light Arrow was a mere hair’s breadth from Meng Qi when he moved suddenly, drifting far away to the left with just a step. The impeccable timing of his evasion and the precise control of his powers was so remarkably perfect that he barely avoided the shot.
“Boom!”
There was a dull explosion behind him. The Golden Light Arrow had struck the peak of a mountain, throwing into the air churning billows of dust and crumbling rocks. Residual charges of electricity snapped angrily around the collapsed mountain like flailing serpents.
When the smoke and dust had stopped, the top half of the mountain was found to be missing!
“You…” Taoist Chixia could not hide his surprise and shock. The powers of the Form of the Charging Crimson Glow had not affected Meng Qi in the least bit!
Meng Qi regarded his foe with an indifferent look, indicating no thirst for triumph. He flexed his limbs and stretched his neck as if re-acquainting himself to a new physical body without moving to attack.
He summoned his Dharmic Form, the Immortal Primogenitor Form and once again cast the Yin-Yang Seal. All parts of his body seem to be functioning properly, illustrating the Elements of Yin and Yang throughout his body as he created a force field around himself that repelled the effects of the magnetic force drawing at him.
This is what he could do with a cursory mastery of his powers!
A delicate control of powers at the Realms of the Exterior!
Although he has to expend half of his powers to maintain the Yin-Yang Seal, the greatest advantage of Taoist Chixia in this battle had been nullified!
The Dharmic Form of Taoist Chixia convulsed violently, swelling and shriveling again and again. The atmosphere around him grew dark and sinister as if concealing unseen dangers as the magnetic force fields wavered wildly, intensifying the pressure that grew stronger as if it had solidified. He again drew the strings of his bow, summoning into form two arrows of destructive energies this time!
With a leisurely giggle, Meng Qi stepped forward and slowly descended downwards. The Flowing Fire in his left hand pierced forth and the blaze of the sword burned with radiant rays of light that stretched far and wide, engulfing Taoist Chixia in its depths.
The endless light that illuminated the infinite world!
The aura released by the Flowing Fire fell upon Taoist Chixia. But it was suddenly diverted, bending violently before it reached him and zigzagged around him, tunneling through the mountains and hills that became riddled with countless fuming holes and crevices.
Taoist Chixia could not suppress a smile of triumph. “I may not be able to influence you, but my Dharmic Form allows me to deflect your attacks!”
He released the string of his bow, unleashing a volley of two Golden Light Arrows simultaneously. The two auric projectiles shot into the air, one flying before another.
Meng Qi was about to evade when the rear arrow struck the one in front of it, drastically increasing the speed of the frontal arrow whilst it burst into a hail of scattering auric bolts.
Despite sensing imminent danger, Meng Qi had barely been able to react swiftly to the sudden turn of events, activating the powers of his Kunlun Taoist Robe.
“Bang!”
The strike dispersed the mists around Meng Qi whose golden protective glow had dulled significantly with white patches all around him. The worst part was that he was unable to activate his Exquisite Precious Weapons while maintaining the effects of the Yin-Yang Seal.
But he was hardly unnerved by his dire plight. With a placid look, he removed the Heaven Inflicted Pain as bolts of lightning crackled hungrily upon its blade. Channeling more power into the Yin-Yang Seal, the blade of the saber swung down hard from above.
The saber sliced into the domain of the magnetic force field, trembling uncontrollably as it nearly deviated off its path. Yet, down it came on its initial path, managing to maintain its foremost trajectory!
The Trio Combination of Yin and Yang technique!